Officials Appeal Flesh-eating Bacteria Case

[livvy]

Ewwwww....I hate this carnivorous microscopic critter! Creeps me out big time!

Officials Appeal Flesh-eating Bacteria Case

By Sam LaGrone - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 12, 2008 18:05:34 EST

A former Air Force spouse who lost the use of her right arm to flesh-eating bacteria after an Air Force doctor failed to properly diagnose and treat the condition was awarded $8.5 million in federal court last month.

Now, the government is appealing the decision, claiming she got too much. The government wants a federal judge in Illinois to trim the judgment.

Jean Phillips came to the Scott Air Force Base, Ill., medical center in April 2002 complaining of pain in her right arm, according to documents filed in an Illinois federal court.

Daniel Macalpine, the Air Force doctor who saw Phillips as her primary care physician, prescribed her Motrin and told her to return if the condition did not improve.

Four days later, a neighbor took Phillips to the base’s emergency room, where she was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as flesh-eating bacteria. According to court records, it is unlikely Phillips acquired the infection at the base medical center.

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http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_flesheating_malpractice_121208/%2e